Editing Stevensville, Montana (section)

==History==
The Bitterroot Valley is the ancestral homeland of the [[Bitterroot Salish]] people. Between 1812 and 1821, the Salish learned about the "powerful medicine" of [[Christianity]] and [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Christian missionaries|missionaries]] from [[Iroquois]] fur traders. In 1831, four young Salish men were dispatched to [[St. Louis, Missouri]], to request "Black Robes" for the tribe.<ref name="Baumler">{{Cite journal |last=Baumler |first=Ellen |date=Spring 2016 |title=A Cross in the Wilderness: St. Mary's Mission Celebrates 175 Years |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26322905 |journal=Montana The Magazine of Western History |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=18–38 |jstor=26322905 |access-date=March 11, 2021}}</ref> The four Salish men were directed to the home and office of [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] (of [[Lewis and Clark Expedition|Lewis and Clark fame]]) to make their request. At that time Clark was in charge of administering the territory they called home. Through the perils of their trip, two of the Salish died at the home of General Clark. The remaining two Salish men secured a visit with St. Louis Bishop [[Joseph Rosati]], who assured them that missionaries would be sent to the [[Bitterroot Valley]] when funds and missionaries were available in the future.

Again in 1835 and 1837 the [[Bitterroot Salish]] dispatched men to St. Louis to request missionaries, but to no avail. Finally in 1839 a group of Iroquois and Salish met Father [[Pierre-Jean De Smet]] in [[Council Bluffs, Iowa|Council Bluffs]]. The meeting resulted in Fr. DeSmet promising to fulfill their request for a missionary the following year.

In 1841, DeSmet led a group of Jesuits to the Bitterroot and founded [[St. Mary's Mission (Montana)|St. Mary's Mission]]. It became the first permanent white settlement in what is now Montana.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic St. Mary's Mission - Where Montana Began - National Historic Site |url=http://www.saintmarysmission.org/index.html |access-date=February 1, 2018 |website=www.SaintMarysMission.org}}</ref> Construction of a chapel began immediately, followed by other permanent structures including log cabins. The settlement was the site of many of Montana's "firsts": irrigation, agriculture, ranching, and cattle branding. [[Antonio Ravalli|Father Ravalli]], Jesuit priest and physician, arrived at the mission in 1845 and built the first pharmacy.<ref name="Baumler" />

In 1850 Major John Owen arrived in the valley and set up camp north of St. Mary's.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Major John Owen |url=http://fwp.mt.gov/lands/site_280846.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925214343/http://fwp.mt.gov/lands/site_280846.aspx |archive-date=September 25, 2009 |access-date=February 1, 2018 |website=mt.gov}}</ref> When [[Blackfeet Nation|Blackfeet]] raids forced the closure of the mission, Owen bought it from the Jesuits and established a trading post called [[Fort Owen State Park|Fort Owen]]. The Jesuits later returned to the area and built a new church. Both St. Mary's Mission and Fort Owen still have permanent structures that stand in present-day Stevensville, denoting its historical past starting in 1841.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fort Owen |url=http://fwp.mt.gov/lands/site_280846.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925214343/http://fwp.mt.gov/lands/site_280846.aspx |archive-date=September 25, 2009 |access-date=February 1, 2018 |website=mt.gov}}</ref>

The name of the settlement was changed from St. Mary's to Stevensville in 1864 to honor territorial governor [[Isaac Stevens]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stevensville |url=http://visitmt.com/categories/city.asp?SiteID=1&CityID=316 |access-date=February 1, 2018 |website=VisitMt.com}}</ref> In 1879, G. A. Kellogg platted the townsite.<ref name="Place Names">{{Cite book |last=Aarstad |first=Rich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=08rAI9NEbcYC |title=Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman |last2=Arguimbau |first2=Ellen |last3=Baumler |first3=Ellen |last4=Porsild |first4=Charlene L. |last5=Shovers |first5=Brian |date=2009 |publisher=Montana Historical Society Press |isbn=978-0975919613 |location=Helena |page=254 |access-date=March 11, 2021}}</ref> In 1891, the Bitterroot Salish who remained in the valley were forced to remove to the [[Flathead Indian Reservation]].<ref name="Bigart">{{Cite journal |last=Bigart |first=Robert |date=Spring 2010 |title='Charlot loves his people': The Defeat of Bitterroot Salish Aspirations for an Independent Bitterroot Valley Community |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25701716 |journal=Montana The Magazine of Western History |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=24–94 |jstor=25701716 |access-date=March 11, 2021}}</ref> In 1893, Ravalli County was created, and Stevensville became the county seat until 1898, when the town lost the election to [[Hamilton, Montana|Hamilton]]. More than forty properties in Stevensville are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="Place Names" />